Norway: Highways and Road Projects

[Plutonic Panda]

]Another day another massive road tunnel project in Norway

Oslo Fjord Link a priority for 2024

The new tunnel will run parallel with the existing 7.3km-long structure which connects Hurum and Frogn near the Norwegian capital Oslo.

- https://www.worldhighways.com/wh12/news/oslo-fjord-link-priority-2024

[Chris]

The world's longest road tunnel is currently under construction in Western Norway, the 'Rogfast' project, or the 'Rogaland Fixed Link Project', which is part of E39 north of Stavanger.

The twin-tube tunnel will be 26.5 km (16.5 miles) long and drops 392 meters below sea level, making it almost the lowest point on earth you can reach by vehicle (slightly less deep than the Dead Sea).

There is also a diamond interchange below the seabed for a side tunnel to Kvitsøy.

Construction is currently underway and scheduled for completion in 2031.

[Plutonic Panda]

Norway's massive Rogfast freeway network, which is being constructed pretty much at one time is on track to be completed by 2032:

https://www.globalhighways.com/news/norways-massive-rogfast-project

[Chris]

Norway has many bridges to islands with a small population.

An example is the Ytre Steinsund Bridge, which is being constructed on an archipelago near the mouth of the Sognefjord. The population of the island it connects is probably not much more than 150. The entire municipal population of Solund is 756. The municipality is not connected by a fixed link to the mainland.

Location: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=61.0358&mlon=4.7413#map=12/61.0082/4.8257

Their argument is that a fixed link is cheaper in the long term than running a ferry that has a very low usage rate. Another argument is that staff to operate these ferries is increasingly difficult to hire in the remote areas of Norway.

[Chris]

Here's a progress map of the 26.5 kilometer long, twin-tube Boknafjord Tunnel (Rogfast project) of E39 north of Stavanger.

The tunnel is being bored through three main contracts E02, E03 and E04. Both tubes are mostly bored simultaneously.

The contract E02 was awarded last and its progress is thus more limited, they're working on the diamond interchange which is being built below the seabed. The spiral tunnel to the island of Kvitsøy is completed.

This will be the longest road tunnel in the world.

Fremdrift = progress.